Historic Completion of the Historical Aerial Imagery Project
Just one week short of exactly four years, the staff of Oakland County Planning & Economic Development Services (PEDS) has completed the Historic Aerial Imagery Project. PEDS has been scanning, rectifying, clipping and mosaicking the aerial photography of the entire County for the flight years 1990, 1980, 1974 and 1963 (approximately 13,000 historical aerial contact prints). Funding for the project came from the Oakland County Information Technology Department. The GIS Utility provided project support, guidance on data standards, and training of personnel.
A vendor was contracted to produce diapositives from the contact prints (at 1 = 1000) for every alternate frame using dodging capabilities to adjust contrast, tone, and density. Next the diapositive was scanned at 24 microns to produce a .94-foot resolution image and was delivered to Oakland County in .TIFF format. Orthorectification was completed by PEDS using ERDAS Imagin Orthobase software. The result is countywide orthorectified, black and white imagery at approximately 1 pixel resolution.
This product documents the spatial history of the County of the last 40 years. Users can compare land development over time, and use the photography as a base for more detailed property analysis by overlaying other datasets. Persons interested in obtaining digital ortho imagery can visit the Oakland County One Stop Shop in the Oakland County Executive Office Building, 1200 N. Telegraph, Pontiac Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Call (248) 858-0720 for more information. CVTs wishing to get this data for their GIS programs can contact Anita Campbell at (248) 858-2388 or contact campbella@oakgov.com.
